Anime Hajime Review: Centaur's Worries

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Centaur's Worries. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

It’s best to tackle life one day at a time. That’s true for both humans and centaurs alike. Although, centaurs do have their own set of problems to worry about.

Himeno Kimihara (voiced by Seria Fukagawa), young centaur, has built a reputation of kindness and is well liked amongst her classmates. While enjoying herself, she must deal with the kind of things any teenager would go through. School, tests, relationships, things we’ve all have to face.

Along the way, Himeno meets and befriends many different kinds of people. Each trying to make the most out of their world. To help make sense of everything, Himeno relies on the support of her two dearest friends. Nozomi Gokuraku (voiced by Yuki Kuwahara), a demon girl, and Kyouko Naraku (voiced by Haruka Shiraishi), a half Satyr.

Together these three do the best anyone can. Things get tough. Things get difficult. But nothing’s ever too much. If you can go to bed with a smile on your face, it means you doing fine.

Series Positives

When I heard of Centaur's Worries, my first thought was a toned-down Monster Musume. Interpret that how you will. Regardless, this wasn’t the case.

Instead, think of this series as a mix between Demi-chan wa Kataritai and Nichijou. For the former, the basic ideas are similar. The daily lives of non-humans. For the later, I’m referring to the two shows’ format.

Amongst its place against the series I’ve just referenced, Centaur's Worries is the weakest. Except that’s not saying much since the competition is so exceptional. On its own, this show was “fine”.

There’s a reason for those quotations. I’m not sure what to think in regard to this show. There were times where I was enjoying it. Other times, I was bored out of my mind.

This series made me laugh. It made me groan. It even made me say to myself, “Oh my God, are we really doing this?” Centaur's Worries was many things. Fantastic or awful weren’t some of them. Therefore, it was fine.

This series is a collection of twenty-four half episodes. It is not one complete story. Given how varied things got, this setup could not be any more correct. Watching this show any other way would be asking a lot. In contrast, it made the whole thing quite pick-and-choose.

When things worked, they worked. Too bad things didn’t always work. Yet what did work was so good, you forget most everything else wasn't. The majority of Centaur's Worries was broken at worst and average at best. Along the way, it was interspersed with a handful of outstanding moments.

Yet there were several ideas and angels that weren’t needed. That’s a distinction I’m going to be operating under from here on out.

We’ve only started this review and already things are getting too indecisive. Actually, that’s a much better word than fine. Centaur's Worries was indecisive.

The Slice-of-Life Elements

Whenever this series stuck to the slice-of-life genre, that was when it was at its most fun. As well as most interesting. No world politics. No detailed intricacies of a universe without humans. No heavy-handed social commentaries. These were all things, by the way.

When Centaur's Worries ignored the fluff and focused on the daily lives of its characters, that was perfect. Although, there is a caveat to that.

Like Demi-chan, Centaur's Worries was at its best when exploring non-human difficulties. How would a centaur interact with the world around them? Or better yet, how would a centaur need to interact with the world around them?

The major difference between the two series, this was at the core of Demi-chan. Centaur's Worries would sometimes deal with problems found in any other slice-of-life show. Making no distinction between there being a clear distinction.

This was a huge waste. Why set a show in this type of world and not use it? When Centaur's Worries didn’t take into account everyone being mythical creatures, I never saw the point. Especially whenever this show did decide to do that, it was neat.

These never had to be big either. In fact, it was better when the problems were small. Almost insignificant even. But that’s the kind of stuff you’d expect. Demi-chan was great because it went over how its characters adapted the world around them. It was hilarious in Monster Museme when the main house needed an overhaul to accommodate new residents.

For Centaur's Worries, some of the more charming moments where the tiny ones. Characters figuring out how to wear clothes in accordance to their appendages. Certain areas needed to be built in certain ways if residents lived on land or in water. For us its fantasy, but for them, it was daily existence.

One of the best embodiments of this was Quetzalcoatl Sassassul (voiced by Yuu Ayase). Or Sa-chan because no to that other name. She was a foreign exchange student from Antarctica. Me even writing that sentence is a decent start. Resembling a reptile, Sa-chan stood out. Along with that, her culture based itself in logical thinking. She came to Japan to broaden her mind.

Sa-chan is now one of, if not my favorite interpretation of a logical character. She didn’t look down on anyone. She never boasted about her way of life as the superior. Think of any character who feels humanity’s reliance on emotions is primitive. They have the same thing in common. They’re arrogant and annoying. Sa-chan wasn’t.

She recognized there was a difference between her and her friends. Yet rather than mocking them, Sa-chan did what she could to understand them. She was open to trying new experiences. Particularly ones she would never find back in Antarctica. She also hoped to clear up long-standing stereotypes associated with her race.

Another fantastic example was Manami Mitama (voiced by Yuna Kamakura) and her relationship with her family. Manami was the oldest to a set triplet and one other younger sister. The trio, known as the Chi-chans (all voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki), were energetic troublemakers. The smallest, Suetsumi (voiced by Mei Kanna), was quite frail. Their mother died some time ago, so Manami has since taken up the role.

You could argue her siblings have added untold amounts of stress, but Manami didn’t mind. Though strict on them, particularly the Chi-chans, Manami loved her sisters. She made sure to spend adequate time with them. Even if that meant undercutting some of her other responsibilities. The amount of effort she put in didn’t go unnoticed by the younger children.

The Chi-chans didn’t have the longest attention spans. They were also a bit selfish, needy, and it would be smart to always keep on eye them. Silence never meant good. Then again, they were kids. How else would they act? Though they complained, they never rebelled against Manami.

What’s more, the Chi-chans did take up the mantle of older sisters for Suetsumi. And through Suetsumi’s perspective, you could see how close the family was.

Plus, the Chi-chans were adorable. They’re the kind of kids you’d want as your nieces. That way you could spend time with them and at the end of the day, they become their parent’s problem. Except these three had nothing on Suetsumi. Cuteness of this magnitude should be illegal. She was precious. There’s no way you won’t fall in love the moment you see her.

Also, Himeno’s little cousin, Shino (voiced by Akane Kiryu), was also a darling. In case you were wondering, there were scenes when all four of these characters were together. It was almost too much.

It was things like this which made Centaur's Worries stand out.

THAT SAID, there was one topic I can’t list as a positive. But I can’t list it as a negative either. It was more, “Wow, I did not expect things to go this way.”

At one point, a boy confessed to Himeno. Instead of giving an answer, she panicked and ran away. Her friends tried to get a reason out of her. Himeno, as shy as one can be, said she was worried about it. As this conversation went on, an idea formed in the back of my mind. I said to myself, “Are you guys talking about v…yes you are.”

That alone would’ve been enough. Except this series didn’t leave it there. I have never run into this before. Congratulations Centaur's Worries, I’m never going to forget you because of this.

When this series embraced what it created for itself, that’s what I can recommend. Too bad this wasn’t always the case. That or this show embraced its world a little too much. Centaur's Worries was all over the place.

Series Negatives

I don’t want to alarm you guys. But I don’t think Centaur's Worries was set in our world. I’m not sure what it was. Society appeared similar enough. I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that everyone was a mythical being.

I don’t know why this show felt it necessary to explain why bi-pedal humans did not exist. We don’t need a reason. One look and you get the gist. “Oh, there are no humans in this series, got it.” No one’s going to ask why.

Every opportunity Centaur's Worries found to point out the obvious, it did. Give us a little more credit. This isn’t a hard concept for someone to wrap their mind around. Or at least that would be the case if this series didn’t feel the need to take it a step further. 

For one, Centaur's Worries needed to get off its soapbox. This show was way too heavy-handed. It was not subtle in what it was trying to say.

Discrimination, as a theme, is fine. It’s a good focal point. But if you want to see a show that does it well, watch Demi-chan. Centaur's Worries should've backed off and reevaluated what it wanted to do. What is the message it wants to tell and what is not necessary?

For instance, world building. Either use or don’t have it. Centaur's Worries kept hinting at a correctional facility for those who discriminated against other races. One slip up and some could get arrested. This series had an odd Big Brother vibe to it that did nothing. It never became an issue. The characters never once had to deal with this. Why have it then?

This series had a lot of dark undertones that had no bearing on anything. At the same time, it tried to have a silly slice-of-life comedy. The two were not mixing. Also, “dark undertones” is me being conservative.

There was one episode dedicated to chronicling a prominent public figure's struggle to mediate tensions between mammals and amphibians. Something he was losing ground on. So yeah, a war was about to happen. While this was going on, said public figure also visited our main character’s school to give a speech. That meant it was the perfect opportunity to put everyone in French maid costumes.

Plus, Centaur's Worries made sure to include its version of World War II. And Nazis. And Nazi concentration camps. Ever wondered what a centaur looks like after being lynched. Yes, that was a thing that happened. In the very next episode, the main characters spied on Sa-chan as she went on a date. Completely ignoring what had just occurred.

If that wasn't evidence enough, this series went on tangents. Things occurred with no basis with anything. The main characters sometimes had nothing to do with what was going on. We saw a traditional merfolk festival which ended with a giant fish monster posing as a God show up. The last time the merfolk were even referenced was six episodes before this.

Also, women in merfolk society are topless. Interesting how that wasn’t something this show felt the need to explain.

One last thing, Centaur's Worries had trouble with stopping. It kept adding things. Even when a given story was over, the show didn’t see it that way. For example, the Chi-chans invited a bunch of their friends over. Suetsumi wanted to join too, but her health forced her to sit out. One of the friends chose to play with Suetsumi and the whole thing was sweet. That was all it needed to be. Everything had ended. The series decided that wasn’t good enough. That friend who hung out with Suetsumi, she was a ghost. Okay then.

That example doesn’t help my point since it was actually kind of cute. It just so happened to be the most blatant instance of this. The others weren’t as adorable.

This is the dilemma of Centaur's Worries. It didn’t know how it wanted to do things. Instead of picking one and hoping for the best, it tried many different things. Except it didn’t need to that. The series found success in the most obvious places. When it was a slice-of-life anime for a centaur and her friends, that was it. Everything else was this show trying way too hard.

Final Thoughts

What to do, what to do. Centaur's Worries isn't making advising easy. On one hand, it can be a lot of fun. On the other, it could be total bull crap.

When this series was a slice-of-life, it was good. And when it was good, it was very good. The main characters were fine. There was a ton of cuteness. This show was a solid watch at parts. Too bad this wasn’t the majority.

More often than not, Centaur's Worries was a bit full of itself. It wanted to be much bigger than it needed to be. Thus, it was slow, dull, and not that engaging. So many things were going on and about 90% of those things should’ve been cut.

In the end, I don’t think I can recommend this. I have no interest to see anymore. Once was enough and it wasn't that special. Centaur's Worries is a series you can skip.

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